BackgroundContinuous education of physicians is critical for the quality of medical care.ObjectivesTo investigate the attitudes of general practitioners towards depression and to evaluate the short- and long-term impact of a specific designed postgraduate university program in depression.MethodIn this prospective, interventional study participated 1322-certificated Family Practice specialist. They filled out the Depression Attitude Questionnaire (DAQ) Spanish validated version before starting the educational intervention; an official approved 12 ECTS postgraduate university program. The participant refilled the questionnaires at the end of the course and 6 months later.ResultsA total of 885 females and 420 males (mean 48 years) and with a mean clinical experience of 25 years participated in this study. Short-term after training, PGs positively significant (P < 0.05) changed their attitudes in the management of depression in 18 out 20 items of the DAQ. There were not significant changes in only item 1 related to the number of patients presenting depressive symptoms seen in the last 5 years and the knowledge of the underlying biochemical abnormality. In the long-term, the positive effects observed in the short-term did not significantly change. However, in item 1 a significantly increase was observed. The effectiveness of the intervention was related nor to the to the age and sex of the physician nor to the years of medical practice.ConclusionsA specific designed educational program can improve the attitudes in depression of GPs. Years of clinical practice are not a limitation for improving the medical attitudes of General practitioners in mental health.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
IntroductionEvery year, 1 million people commit suicide in the world. Major Depressive Disorder is the first cause of loss of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) in developed countries.ObjectiveTo study the references to psychiatric disorders in the media and to measure their media impact compared with other topics such as politics, sports and tabloids.MethodsWe focused on the top-six journals in terms number of readers in the USA. Our research strategy included the introduction of several terms of interest (ex: “anxiety”) on each journal's Twitter account. The search was restricted to 2014, and yielded a database of 6296 news, which was categorized in four areas: health, politics, sports and tabloids.ResultsSix hundred and eighty-one (10.8%) news dealt with psychiatric disorders. The term with the highest impact in mass media was “suicide”, present in 1 of every 3 Psychiatrics-related news. Anorexia was the psychiatric disorder with the lowest impact (just 1 tweet). We noticed certain peaks-patterns in the number of tweets coincidentally with the suicide of any famous person. Within the total of terms included in our study, suicide ranked the 8th position regarding media impact.ConclusionsSocial networks can be a useful tool for the divulgation of mental disorders and their awareness among the general population. Despite psychiatric disorders are very prevalent and cause high morbidity, they have a relatively low media impact. Despite the WHO recommendation of avoiding specific information regarding the suicide of famous people, for preventive reasons, suicide is the psychiatric disorder with the highest media impact.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
IntroductionThe global burden of mental disorders is large and continues to grow. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Every 40 seconds somebody dies from suicide. People with mental disorders are amongst the most marginalized in society. The stigma they experience puts them at an increased risk of poverty, discrimination and human right violations.ObjectivesTo study the presence of psychiatric disorders in the media.MethodsWe selected and analyzed the top media Twitter accounts of general news outlets, based on their number of followers. Our research strategy focused on the search of several psychiatric terms of interest (ex: “insomnia”) on each Twitter account. The search includes tweets from the beginnings of Twitter in 2007 up to May 2016, and yielded a database of more than 10,000 news.ResultsThe terms with the highest impact in mass media referred to suicide, depression, addictions and gender dysphoria. Disorders related to anxiety (Generalized anxiety, phobias, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder), dysthymia and bipolar disorder were the psychiatric disorders with the lowest impact. We noticed that the presence of psychiatric disorders in the media is increasing. However, it does not accurately reflect the actual impact it has on society.ConclusionsThe media can be a useful tool for the implementation of strategies for the promotion and prevention of mental disorders. However, we are not fully taking advantage of the benefits that mass media has to offer in order to educate and raise awareness about said disorders.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
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